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Hustle and Flow

by • April 26, 2007

Last year’s Oscar winning song from “Hustle and Flow” was “It’s Hard Out There to be a Pimp.”

And increasingly, its getting harder to be a Republican.Ã‚Â Over at Orange Juice, there’s a lenghtly debate over whether or not convicted drunk driver and former OC County Supervisor Bruce Nestande was a former darling of conservatives or the Republican party (sort of like my neighbors arguing about painting their homes beige or beige).Ã‚Â I always notice that Liberals and Democrats get lumped together, so Matt has a point, but in this case, Nestande was a darling of the Republican Party regardless of his conervsative creds.Ã‚Â Cheap shot against OC GOP?Ã‚Â No worse than cheap shots against the left on Flash Report regularly.Ã‚Â

But increasingly, more mainstream Americans are moving left.Ã‚Â A Total Buzz post yesterday indictates an even split on political registration between Republicans and Democrats among the wealthist Americans that didn’t exist years ago.Ã‚Â

WASHINGTON – As the Democrat-controlled Congress and the White House clash over an Iraq spending bill, with President Bush vowing to veto it because it contains withdrawal deadlines, the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that a solid majority of Americans side with the Democrats.

In addition, a nearly equal number believe that victory in Iraq isn’t possible, and about only one in eight think the war has improved in the three months since Bush called for a troop increase there.

“They don’t see the surge working,” says Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted the survey with Republican pollster Neil Newhouse. Instead, they are saying “we need to get out.”

With those opinions, it’s perhaps not surprising the poll also shows that the Democratic presidential front-runner who opposed the Iraq war from the start Ã¢â‚¬â€ Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. Ã¢â‚¬â€ has gained ground on Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., who voted to authorize the war and hasn’t apologized for it, despite her increasingly antiwar rhetoric.

And the candidate whose fortunes seem to be tied the most to the situation in Iraq Ã¢â‚¬â€ Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Ã¢â‚¬â€ continues to trail former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani by double digits.

In favor of a troop deadlineThe poll Ã¢â‚¬â€ which was taken of 1,004 adults from April 20-23, and which has an overall margin of error of 3.1 percentage points Ã¢â‚¬â€ comes as Congress considers an supplemental spending bill that would begin withdrawing troops from Iraq no later than Oct. 1, with the goal of having all combat troops leave by March 2008.

The House on Wednesday passed the bill containing the troop withdrawal timetable. The Senate was expected to follow suit on Thursday.Bush opposes the bill and has threatened to veto it. “They know I’m going to veto a bill containing these provisions, and they know that my veto will be sustained,” the president said on Tuesday. “But instead of fashioning a bill I could sign, the Democratic leaders chose to further delay funding our troops, and they chose to make a political statement. That’s their right. But it is wrong for our troops and it’s wrong for our country.”

Yet the poll shows that 56 percent say they agree more with the Democrats in Congress who want to set a deadline for troop withdrawal, versus the 37 percent who say they agree with Bush that there shouldn’t be a deadline.What’s more, 55 percent believe that victory in Iraq isn’t possible. And 49 percent say the situation in Iraq has gotten worse in the last three months since Bush announced his so-called troop surge. Thirty-seven percent say the situation has stayed about the same, and just 12 percent think it has improved.

The funding issueYet Newhouse, the GOP pollster, says that there are dangers for the Democrats if they decide to go too far on Iraq. “The Democrats risk overplaying the Iraq issue by tying the president’s hands on funding. Yes, Americans want Congress to put pressure on the president for a timetable for withdrawing from Iraq, but that doesn’t mean they want Congress to sidestep the president and do it on their own.”The pessimism about the war has also likely contributed to the country’s overall sour mood. According to the poll, only 22 percent believe the country is on the right track. That’s the lowest number on this question since October 1992, when Bush father’s was running for a second term Ã¢â‚¬â€ and lost.

In the 2008 presidential race, Clinton leads Obama among Democrats, 36-31 percent, with Edwards in third at 20 percent. Back in March, however, Clinton’s lead over Obama was 12 points (40-28 percent), while Edwards was at 15 percent.

Newhouse says Clinton should be “scared to death” of these numbers. “She’s on the primary highway putting along at 50 [miles per hour], and Obama is in the rearview mirror going 75. She’s got a very tough race ahead, and Obama’s got big Mo’.”

Meanwhile, as McCain formally kicked off his presidential bid on Wednesday, the poll finds him trailing Giuliani by 11 points in the GOP presidential race, 33-22 percent. Former Sen. Fred Thompson, in his first appearance on this survey, finishes third at 17 percent, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney comes in fourth at 12 percent. No other Republican candidate receives more than 2 percent.

Bush heir-apparentStrikingly, even though McCain has earned a reputation as a maverick Republican (due to his 2000 presidential campaign, his role in the Gang of 14 compromise over judicial nominations and his fight with the White House over detainee rights), 63 percent of Republicans in the survey believe he would closely follow Bush’s programs and policies. Sixty-two percent say that of Giuliani, compared with 39 percent for Thompson and 37 percent for Romney. Also in the poll, 42 percent have a positive view of the Arizona senator, versus 22 percent who see him in a negative light Ã¢â‚¬â€ which is virtually unchanged since March. But it’s a drop from the 50-14 rating he held in May 2004, when he wasn’t as closely allied with the Bush White House.

“If his campaign continues to center on Iraq,” Hart says, “I don’t see how he makes it.”

Ã‚Â

For all the Right Wing rhetoric we’ve been hearing about the “Angry Left,” I think its right wingers who’s gone off the deep end.Ã‚Â Case in point: this video from pundit Michelle Malkin, who oddly enough, penned a book on “Unhinged” Demcorats last year.

Who said conservatives don’t have a sense of humor? What gets me is Michelle is in her early 30s.Ã‚Â Why doesn’t she enlist in the military and ask to go to Iraq?Ã‚Â Or can she better serve the country by waving her pom poms?

Orange County conservatives have an air of desperation, as do stalwart Republicans across the country. As the national Republican party has been shown to be little more than a criminal enterprise, with daily scandals on the Grand Old Police Blotter, the American electorate is turning on them with revulsion.

Their governor learned that they were dead wrong about what the electorate wanted, and Arnold abruptly shifted gears to focus on pocketbook issues and environmental issues, with little concern for their wedge issues.

Their Presidential candidates are a sorry lot, while the Democrats have great candidates, including Barack Obama, a transformational candidate who is very appealing to younger, educated Republicans. Barack also embodies the family values, religion, and Christianity that the conservatives talk about, but can’t quite manage to maintain.

Core Republican support is down to somewhere between 12% ( the number who think the surge is working) to 28% (the number who support Bush).

Just passsinÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ through and couldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t help but notice Bruce Nestande was here!

For those of you who have computer access – to the Orange County Register Archives going back to the early 80Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s – you might want to
search his name.

YouÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll notice that a particular reporter whose name escapes me right now, regularly reported on the escapades of Bruce Nestande, including the fact that around that period of time he was homeless, and often could be found house-sitting at some developers house or somewhere else.

The reporter seemed to concerned about his well being, and of course there were those embarrassing phone records from his office – calls to phone-sex lines of all things – whew – Go Get Ã¢â‚¬ËœEm Tiger.

So, hereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the Million Dollar Question – how does a house-sitting County Supervisor – essentially homeless – go from house-sitting to
owning a home on fashionable Lido Island – which by-the-way is real close to the Cannery Restaurant, he should have walked home.

Bob Emmers was the reported who loved Bruce Nestande,
at one time he was having a contest called “Find a Home for Bruce”…
[LOL]

January 22, 1987
Byline: Bob Emmers

The Register
The Orange County Register

I for one will be very sorry to see him go. I hadn’t known Bruce that long, but I’ll always remember him with great fondness.

All that wonderful column material he provided me with!

Why, even as I sit here, I’m remembering the time last year that Bruce sold his house but simply neglected to find a new place to live.

Well, he just called up a developer friend who gave him a great deal on a place to live temporarily. Of course, it was …

Just a little Blog Candy to brighten your day!

Dave

Previously-

“So, hereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the Million Dollar Question – how does a house-sitting County Supervisor – essentially homeless – go from house-sitting to
owning a home on fashionable Lido Island – which by-the-way is real close to the Cannery Restaurant, he should have walked home. “